


Change Everything Now (Twist of Fate)

by NoahK



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Death, F/F, Future Fic, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-05 11:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3117941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoahK/pseuds/NoahK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla fell into a tradition maybe it was more like a ritual; she does it the same day every single year. She isn't the only one. The pictures bring back the memories. LaFerry and Hollstein children and one twist of fate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Twist of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This is not for the light hearted. Trigger warnings: death and grieving  
> There is a light throughout the tunnel. And LaFerry kids and Hollstein child.  
> I apologize for any inaccurate things along the way I did the best I could to keep it as accurate as possible.

Carmilla knelt in front of her bed frame and slowly removed the wooden crate from underneath it promptly carrying it to the desk in the corner. She took a deep breath before finally cracking open the dark mahogany that has been closed for exactly a whole year. 

It’s amazing, when it comes down to it, that she can even last a whole year without looking at them to begin with. She knew they wouldn’t want her to mourn for them too much and Carmilla struggled with that. She had to have some self control. 

The tears started to prick at her eyes the second the first photos came into view. This happens every single year and never gets any easier. She tries to put the pictures in the box in a specific order in hopes of softening the blow but it only makes her know what’s coming. 

Carmilla goes through the pictures of LaFontaine and Perry slowly reminiscing all of the good times. Sure she hated all the times that the ginger twins interrupted her and Laura but she had a soft spot for them. It grew more and more evident overtime which eventually lead to her part in their wedding. She wasn’t expecting to have a significant role in the wedding but was glad to do it anyway. After all it showed that they genuinely did care for the brooding vampire after all. 

Eventually Carmilla got to a happier portion of the photos where it showed the ginger twins with their actual ginger twins, Noah and Carter. Both of whom were so absolutely adorable. LaF and Perry had quickly made Laura and Carmilla the godparents of both children without any hesitation. Carmilla’s soft spot for them grew even more that day and even more so as the actual ginger twins grew up. And when one of them came crying to Laura and Carmilla’s house one day, Carmilla was the one to cheer them up. 

“But they won’t live forever, Aunt Carm. What are we supposed to do when they aren’t here anymore?” Noah asked nervously with tears in their eyes. 

Carmilla cursed whatever child put this thought in their head to begin with. Death is not something that you should talk to a child about in hopes of making them upset or breaking their heart. They were only 7 years old. 

“Well, I’m going to tell you a secret. Okay, buddy?” Carmilla asked the young ginger already knowing they were going to keep the secret under one condition. LaF and Perry had been asking you for the past year to tell the ginger twins about you but she wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. This time is as good as any.

“Okay, Auntie Carm. But can I tell Carter?”

“Yes, you can tell Carter. But no one else. Promise, ginger one?” Carmilla held up her pinky finger to the little child who enthusiastically returned the gesture. 

“I promise. And don’t worry I’ll get Carter to promise you too,” Noah exclaimed as they shook pinkies again before letting go. 

“Alright well,” she paused for a moment unsure about how to explain this. “I’ll always be here, Noah. Even when your parents aren’t anymore which won’t happen until you’re much much older. I will always be here and I’ll tell you why.”

Carmilla goes on a simplified story about how she is a vampire and will live for many years without aging. She answered all of their curious questions that came up and they seemed to understand it pretty well for a child that age. Eventually Carter made their way into Carmilla’s house and joined in the story about Carmilla’s past and who she is. They both promised eagerly that they would never say a word to anyone. 

“Does our parents know? And what about Auntie Laura?” Carter pipes up with their final questions.

“Yes, they all know. They’ve known since we were all in college together. And they keep the secret, too. Just like you two need to. It’s a big people secret and you’re both getting so big that I think you can keep this secret, too.”

“Yeah. We are big people. We’ll keep you secret, Aunt Carmilla. Don’t worry,” Carter jumps up in excitement speaking on behalf of their sibling.

“Thanks, ginger twins, it means a lot,” Carmilla says before grabbing them both for a big hug that ends in a tickle fight and lots of squealing. 

Eventually when it subsides the ginger twins run out the door and back to their house next door. Carmilla really has a soft spot for the ginger family especially considering she didn’t even fight when they said they wanted to buy the house next door to the one she bought with Laura. She did, however, make her fair share of snarky remarks about it.

And Carmilla was there for them both. Through stupid fights with their friends, heartbreaks, everything. Carmilla was always there. And when LaF and Perry didn’t make it home one stormy night, Carmilla was there. Laura was there for that too. The ginger twins had just turned 15 the previous month. When they didn’t hear a car in the driveway at 10 pm on the dot they turned to each other with scared looks in their eyes. Perry always kept them on time. They always promptly arrived home when they said they would be home. The ginger twins tried to stay calm until finally at 10:32 pm that February night they ran over to their Aunt’s house crying. 

Carmilla tried to keep them calm with soothing statements of hopeful wishes. She looked at Laura with such devastation that the younger girl had never seen before and her heart broke. 

Eventually Laura coaxed the twins onto the couch and gave them both a blanket and hot cocoa before turning on a movie that she knew they both loved. Laura sat in between them after checking to make sure their daughter was still asleep upstairs with a hot cocoa of her own. Carmilla stepped into the other room to frantically call LaF and Perry’s phone. When both repeatedly rang and went to voicemail she almost broke down herself. She stayed strong for the ginger twins in the next room and eventually claimed enough to call the police. 

The ginger twins had promptly passed out on the couch halfway into the movie so Laura cautiously got up and joined Carmilla in the kitchen. Upon seeing Carmilla she knew something awful had happened just by the vampire’s posture. Once Carmilla noticed her presence she shook her head gently and choked out “It doesn’t look good.” 

The police came the next morning to inform them of any information they found. And unfortunately the police had found exactly what Laura and Carmilla had feared. 

“Can you come down to the station and confirm their identities?” The police officer asked as kindly as he could under the circumstances. 

Carmilla looked at Laura, both with tears in her eyes and immediately offered to do it herself. “Laura, stay with the kids, okay?”

Laura nodded her head gently before going into the kitchen to make breakfast for the ginger twins and her daughter. 

Carmilla could barely hold it together at the station. When she confirmed their identities and their car the police officer explained the accident to her. She could barely even register what was happening. This couldn’t be happening. He kindly offered his condolences many times and began explaining the legalities of the whole situation. Eventually escorting her back to her home. 

Her first thought wasn’t to go to her home but to the ginger families. She walked around in complete disbelief for a half an hour before she realized why she came there. Perry, being her overly organized and rational self, had told Carmilla and Laura where their wills were. Carmilla wanted this process to be as smooth as physically possible because any additional drama and complications they had to drag the ginger twins through the worse it was going to be. It was going to be pretty horrible to begin with but this would soften it a little. 

Upon finding the wills she immediately sunk to the floor with tears pricking at her eyes. LaFontaine and Perry’s wishes minus the legalities are simplified to as follows.  
We leave all tangible personable properties to Laura Hollis Karnstein and Carmilla Karnstein shall our deaths be unexpected.   
We leave all our residences to Laura Hollis Karnstein and Carmilla Karnstein to be sold and the money be put towards our children equally.   
We give the remainder of our estate to Laura Hollis Karnstein and Carmilla Karnstein to be put equally towards our children.   
If we leave minor children surviving us, I appoint as guardian of the person and property of my minor children to Laura Hollis Karnstein and Carmilla Karnstein. They shall have custody of our minor children, and shall serve without bond.

Carmilla remains on the floor for nearly an hour before she is able to pull herself together again. She pushes herself off the ground and out the door soon after taking the documents with her. Carmilla didn’t know that Perry and LaF had left everything to them. She especially didn’t know she left them both guardians of their children. For some reason it just never occurred to Carmilla. And to be fair, it never occurred to Laura either. They both knew Perry was always overly prepared but they didn’t realize what that meant for them. It’s like she knew this was going to happen. 

Telling Noah and Carter and hell, even Laura was one of the worst days of Carmilla’s entire existence. There was so much crying and utter disbelief from everybody. The months that followed weren’t any easier. 

The funeral was in late March.

“LaFontaine and Lola Perry were both 39 when they met their unfortunate demise leaving behind their twins Noah and Carter, age 15. These two young souls met when they were little children and were always inseparable. Even in death, they are inseparable. Neither of them could imagine a life without the other. And now they truly will be together forever.” 

The funeral was small with only close friends and relatives. Laura and Carmilla stood towards the front with their daughter. Noah and Carter standing in front of them. Lafontaine and Perry would be so proud of their children. Noah and Carter both had their ginger hair short but of varying styles. Noah had chosen to wear a dress while Carter preferred a black dress shirt and pants. Neither of them ever feared to be themselves because of the way they were raised. LaF and Perry had raised them right. Laura and Carmilla are proud of LaF and Perry’s children and of their friends parenting. It makes them smile every day even in this dark situation. 

The twins shed tears as they both lowered flowers into each of the graves. Laura and Carmilla hugged them both from behind in response showing them support. Each of the twins offered timid smiles in response and leaned into the support of their guardians. 

Selling the ginger family home was a hard thing to let go of. In the weeks prior to the funeral they had moved the ginger twin’s furniture and personal belongings into the Karnstein home. Laura broke down in the master bedroom when she realized she didn’t know what to do with their clothes. Eventually they packed them up in boxes and put them into the attic of the Karnstein home as well. Just in case. They took the personal belongings of the ginger family and found new homes for them in theirs. Laura took down the pictures with a sad smile and immediately found places for them in their new home. She knew it would be sad to have them around but eventually they would be a good comfort. Listing the home was one thing and then when it sold not even a month later it hit them in a whole new way. Seeing the new family move in next door was upsetting but they still made sure to go by and say hello to their new neighbors.

The ginger twins had trouble coping but eventually after a few months they started doing better again. They both started hanging out with their friends again and trying to get back to their lives. Laura and Carmilla knew that it was still upsetting to them and they would still have bad days but they were happy to see them coping and moving through the stages of grief. They were all grieving. 

The first anniversary was rough for everyone but they all went to their graves and left flowers for them and caught them up on their lives. 

The second anniversary was a little better. They all went to LaF and Perry’s grave together and left flowers again. The twins asked for some time alone to tell their parents about everything going which they gladly complied.

Carmilla and Laura walked back to their car with their daughter, Sydney, not far behind them like always. Syd took after Carmilla the most, remarkably. She was going to be 13 in the fall and had Carmilla’s dark curly hair and the same attitude at times although she had Laura’s hazel eyes. 

“We’ve really both given it a lot of thought. And it’s something we think we might want in the future,” Carter spoke up.

“And don’t worry, mom. We know what it means. We…we think it’s for the best, ya know?” Noah offers. “And we won’t do anything anytime soon. We’ll wait until we’re at least 18 to seriously bring it up and at least until 21 to actually do it.”

“We love you both. We just wanted to tell you what we were thinking about doing in the future,” Carter jumps in again. “And we know you’ll be proud of us no matter what we decide.”

They both always made a habit for talking for the other. They always knew what the other was thinking too. They both got up at the same time and took one last look at the grave. 

“We love you both, so much,” they both said at once before walking back to the car.

Noah and Carter both got into all the colleges they applied to making their guardians extraordinarily proud. They wound up both committing to the same school about 45 minutes away from home. Neither wanted to go too far. Laura and Carmilla were their support system and their little sister has always loved them both and spending time with them. Neither of them wanted to go too far away from their parents’ either. They visit every single year and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 

On their 18th birthday they approach Carmilla with a serious topic held at bay for a couple years. 

“Hey, Aunt Carmilla. We have something we want to talk to you about?” Noah says suddenly and Carmilla can immediately detect the intonation in their voice. She knows what’s coming. 

“I’m not even going to considerate it until you’ve graduated from college,” Carmilla says sharply. 

“Why?” Carter asks slightly irritated.

“It’s a big decision and I want you to live the best years of your life first. When you graduate then you can come have this conversation with me,” Carmilla says and they immediately detect the tone of her voice and know that’s the end of the conversation.

“Okay,” they agree and walk out of the room. They respect her enough to believe she knows what’s best although they still would’ve liked to discuss with them now. They could live with waiting four more years. 

The twins left for college that fall and everyone cried tears of pride that move in day. Laura and Carmilla were so proud of them. They returned home later that day with one child instead of three. It suddenly felt so empty. 

“Hey momma,” Syd called running into the master bedroom with a bow tie in hand. “Can you help me with this?” Syd held out the bow tie to Carmilla who smiled sheepishly putting down the pictures she was looking at. “Are those pictures of the ginger twins parents?”

“Yeah, they are,” Carmilla smiles wiping away the tears that were forming in her eyes. “Okay, come here little one.”

“Hey! I’m thirteen now, mom. I’m not that little,” Syd pipes up with her short stature.

“Well, you may be thirteen but you’re still the littlest one here.” Syd huffs at her mother but lets her adjust the bow tie around her neck and pull the collar of the purple shirt down. Carmilla turns her daughter around and hugs her tightly. “So, your first middle school dance, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m really excited,” Syd enthusiastically replies bouncing on her feet. 

“I bet you are. Alright go get mommy and tell her to get a camera, will you?”

Syd rolls her eyes at you but complies and leaves the room. Carmilla sighs a little with a smile still on her face. Things are slowly getting back to normal. None of them will ever forget LaFontaine or Perry. Carmilla slowly puts away all of the pictures and closes the trunk yet again. In another year it will come out again for the same purpose. She glides the trunk back to it’s place under the bed. Everyone grieves differently. 

“Momma?” 

“Yeah sweetie?” Carmilla calls back.

“Come on, Momma. I’m going to be late,” Syd calls back impatiently from the bottom of the stairs. 

“Calm yourself, little one. I’m on the way,” Carmilla says as she’s descending the stairs to where her wife and daughter are waiting with the camera.


	2. Life Goes On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ginger twins are heading off to college. Syd will soon follow. There are so many important decisions to be made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to making up for some of the tragedies in the first chapter. And you're all welcome because I could've made this about ten time more tragic but decided against it.  
> Also I painstakingly wrote this into the wee hours of the morning and gave myself a migraine in the process I apologize for any horrifically simplistic errors that may show up...

Late that Valentine’s Day night long after Syd returned from her dance and was tucked into bed Carmilla lay awake unable to sleep. She had been boring holes into the ceiling with her eyes for the past hour before she decided to see if by some miracle Laura was still awake.

“Cupcake,” Carmilla whispered gently.

“Hm?” Laura mumbled gently from her place on the older girl’s shoulder.

“You awake?”

“What’s on your mind, Carm?” she asked suddenly aware that something must be bothering her.

“Ginger one and two want to be turned,” the vampire releases the news gently after holding it back for a couple months.

“What?”

“They tried to ask me on their birthday a couple months back but I refused to even entertain the idea until after they graduated from college,” she clarifies.

“Good. They’re not at a time in their lives where they can realize what that truly means for them and the profound effect it will have on their lives,” Laura honestly blurts out.

“I know. That’s why I denied them so quickly. I just…a part of me thinks that they want to be turned because of what happened to LaF and Perry.   You know?”

“That’s always been my concern. Which is why we’re giving them the time they need to really live their lives away from home and if they still want it when they graduate then we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes,” Laura confesses.

“Meaning we will explain every tiny detail of how it will affect their lives and the rest of their existence to the point that they actually understand what it will mean for them,” Carmilla adds.

“Exactly,” Laura whispers. “No need to worry about it yet. We’ve got three and a half years to wait. And then another four after that should Syd decide anything similar,” Laura’s voice immediately cracks at the mention of Syd.

Syd had been their miracle baby. They tried to get pregnant earlier in Laura’s human life to no avail. For years they had failed attempt after failed attempt until Laura finally gave up on the idea of it altogether. One day she turned to Carmilla completely heartbroken and just asked her to turn her already because she never was going to be able to carry a child. She didn’t even want to wait for her latest results from what was their last attempt to conceive a child. And that’s where Syd came into play.

Laura was two months pregnant when she was turned and was absolutely devastated when she found out. For days she screamed at Carmilla blaming her for the loss of their unborn child. Laura blamed her for turning her when she did even though it was Laura’s idea entirely. Carmilla spent every day trying to calm her down never once leaving her side despite the horrible things the younger vampire would say to her. Deep down Carmilla was hoping that by some insane miracle the baby survived despite her turning Laura. She made Laura drink far more blood than was necessary for sustenance in hopes that it would be enough to make the baby survive.

A week after she was turned Laura finally started to calm down. And two weeks after that she began thinking that maybe the baby did survive. And 5 months after that Laura gave birth to Sydney only a month premature. By some bizarre miracle they had a happy and healthy human baby. It perplexed Carmilla so much that she resorted to reaching out to a vampire more than twice her age to see if such a thing was heard of before. Her 824 year old vampire confidant said in all his life he has only ever heard of it a grand total of three times. All babies survived and went on to live their human lives choosing not to live the life of a vampire so Carmilla could get very little specific information. She assured Laura for months that their child should grow like a normal human being would and that when the time came she could be turned if she chose.

To Laura she was just so pleased to have Syd in their lives. She doesn’t care if Syd chooses to be turned or not. The mere existence of her daughter in the first place is enough for her. It breaks their hearts that their daughter may or may not choose to live forever. She very well may choose to live out her human life despite her parents both being vampires. And if that’s what their daughter wants for herself then so be it that’s what she will get and they will both support her fully.

“It’s her choice, sweetheart. Whatever she decides she will live a long and happy life with the support of her whole family,” Carmilla whispers in attempts to soothe both herself and Laura.

“I know.”

The house finally feels full again once the ginger twins are home from their first year in college. Everyone in the household is buzzing with energy in preparations for Liam. Liam was a very kind boy that Carter had met in one of their art classes who absolutely changed Carter’s world. He was driving seven hours away from home solely to meet the family and be with Carter for a little over a week. Carmilla and Laura were both ecstatic that Liam was already showing the lengths he would go for Carter.

The second the tall blonde haired boy pulls into the driveway Carter is out the door to help him with his belongings. Carmilla and Laura stand inside smiling wide at each other as the situation before them plays out. Liam walks into the house and immediately goes to shake both women’s hands firmly and smiles.

“It’s really great to finally meet you both,” Liam says excitedly with a toothy grin.

“It’s nice to finally meet you too,” Laura says before Carmilla can come up with a snarky comment to embarrass ginger two. Carmilla feigns anger in Laura ruining her moment but laughs it off almost immediately after Laura rolls her eyes. Over the years the brooding vampire has surely softened up quite a bit.

Carter quickly helps Liam gather his stuff to bring it upstairs stopping along the way to point out a picture of their parents at the base of the staircase. Liam nods his head and places his hand on Carter’s shoulder reassuringly before they continue up the stairs.

The entire week Liam is present Carmilla throws Laura a meaningful glance every time Liam does something that reminds her of them when they were that age. They both admit that they’ll miss the blonde boy in their home and invite him to stop by and stay awhile anytime. He takes up that offer three other times that summer staying for at least a week each time.

The ginger twins return to their college of choice in the fall even more excited than the previous year. They both call every weekend with weekly updates and occasionally on days that they’re struggling with exam stress. Once Carter calls late one night and immediately the hairs stand up on the back of Carmilla’s neck at the sound of their voice.

It was immediately apparent that they’d been crying and just needed to talk. Carmilla talked to them for hours until they were ready to go to sleep. After the fourth consecutive day of Carter calling home they were sounding much better and were able to talk about what was actually bothering them.

“I got into a fight with Liam,” Carter confessed in the middle of the phone call.

“I had a feeling, sweetie. How are you doing?”

“Okay, now. We worked it out. It was a pretty stupid fight to begin with,” Carter admitted. “Have you and Aunt Laura ever fought?”

“Of course we have. We’ve been together for 25 years, of course we’ve had fights. Even the stupid ones,” Carmilla confesses honestly.

“Really?”

“Uh huh. We’ve had our fair share of really stupid fights. In the beginning before we even started dating she used to ream me out for leaving hair in the shower drain and stealing her yellow pillow,” Carmilla admits with a laugh.

“No way? That totally sounds like Aunt Laura though,” they laugh on the other end of the line.

“I know. We had stupid fights all the time. It’s a part of the relationship you just need to work through them and communicate with each other.”

“I guess of all people, you should know. Thanks, Aunt Carm.”

“No problem, ginger two,” Carmilla says with a smile.

“Oh and Aunt Carm..” Carter stops hesitating knowing they don’t nearly say it enough. “I love you.”

“I love you too, bud. Now go kick some college work’s ass,” Carmilla says with a gentle laugh. Carter laughs in response before they hang up to go work on their homework for the night.

Over the course of the next year Carter and Noah maintain calling every single weekend without fail. They even called in times of trouble like the one time that Noah got so drunk they didn’t know where they were or the time Carter almost got busted with alcohol on the dry side of campus. Carter’s sheer wit got them out of getting caught and called Carmilla specifically to thank her for contributing to his witty sense of humor and to talk about LaFontaine’s humor too. Carmilla assured that ginger two’s humor came almost entirely from LaFontaine and told them about some of their favorite lines from when they were younger. Carter enjoyed reminiscing with Carmilla but eventually had to hang up to return to the events of the evening.

Shortly after the ginger twins resume their third year at college Syd begins showing an interest in something that her parents had been fearing since she was born. Syd knew this and kept it from them for as long as possible.

“Laura,” Carmilla turns to her in disbelief. “Did you see what I saw?”

“Huh?” Laura questions raising her head from Carmilla’s lap. “No, sorry, see what?”

“Hang on,” Carmilla shushes Laura and turns her head towards the kitchen where Syd had just retreated to. She listened as Syd began to rummage through the fridge before pulling out a water bottle. Syd promptly walked back through the living room and began going up the stairs without realizing her mother’s harsh gaze. Carmilla immediately nudged Laura and pointed to their daughter.

Laura’s head immediately perked up and within seconds she saw what Carmilla was talking about.

“Sydney Elizabeth Hollis Karnstein,” Laura called immediately making the younger girl stop in her tracks most the way up the stairs. Sure it was a mouthful when they chose that name but neither ever imagined having to say it all at once. Except in a time like this one.

“Mom?” Syd called three quarters the way up the stairs immediately afraid of what was going on. Her whole name was never said especially in that tone.

Carmilla snickered as her wife sat up and examined their daughter who was now terrified and near cowering on the stairs.

“Are those hickeys?” Laura asks incredulously.

“I…um…” Syd stutters causing Carmilla to snicker even more which then prompts Laura to jab her in the ribs. “I really have to study for this test tomorrow,” Syd blurts out rushing up the stairs in attempts of getting away from the conversation.

“Oh, no. One she sneaks around us and two she tries to play it off like nothing. No,” Laura pushes off the couch and goes to turn up the stairs. “Hey! Useless vampire get your ass over here and come with me to speak to our daughter.”

Carmilla doesn’t even hesitate or make any remarks in return she simply gets up and follows her to their daughter’s room. Laura immediately walks into the room and stares at their daughter in disbelief.

“Alright, tell me who he/she is and when this whole thing started happening?” Laura demanded.

“Mom, now’s really not the best time. I have a test tomorrow and you’re always saying to be involved in my studies and to take them seriously,” Syd tries again desperately trying to avoid this conversation.

“Is this person that you’re seeing in this room?” Laura asks to which Syd shakes her head profusely before Laura continues. “Then you’re going to tell me who this person is and when you started seeing them right now before I ground you.”

Syd immediately looks to Carmilla for help in this situation to which Carmilla just shrugs. “You got yourself into this mess. Just tell us who they are and it’ll be fine,” Carmilla says from behind Laura.

“Her name is Julie,” Syd says with her head bowed.

“And do we know this Julie? And for how long?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve mentioned her before. And we’ve been dating for a couple months,” she admitted shyly.

Now that she brought it up their daughter has mentioned this Julie before. Laura remembers detecting Syd’s heartbeat picking up when she brought her up to the both of them in the summer but didn’t realize what it meant at the time. Everything is starting to make sense now.

“Okay,” Laura says and promptly leaves their daughters room with her wife in tow. “You know, you really can be useless sometimes?”

“I know. But you love me anyway,” Carmilla replies as she wraps her arms around Laura’s waist from behind.

“That’s too true, Karnstein. Too true.”

The following fall the ginger twins are entering their senior year at college while their little sister enters her senior year of high school. Syd has begun applying to colleges and is waiting to hear back from all of them. The ginger twins are figuring out what they want to do with their lives post graduation but for the time being decided to party it up at college and make their last year their best.

Carmilla was going through her closet one day when Syd knocked timidly at the door. “Hey…can we talk about something?”

“Sure, sweetie. What’s wrong?” Carmilla asked immediately picking up on the fact that her heart was racing.

“I think I’m going to break up with Julie,” Syd sniffled.

“What happened?” Carmilla asked gently sitting next to her daughter on the bed.

“It’s just not going to work. With college and all. I don’t think I want a girlfriend going into college and it’s been really stressful lately. And I don’t think she wants it anymore either,” Syd confesses.

“Oh, honey. It’s okay. These things happen. You’re still young. You have your whole life ahead of you for settling down with someone,” Carmilla says quietly.

“Yeah, but you met mom when she was 19.”

“I may have met her when she was 19 but let’s remember the fact that I was 334 years old,” Carmilla laughed.

“Did you ever love anyone before mom?” Syd asks perking up a little after Carmilla broke the tension with the painful truth of her love life.

“Only one. And I didn’t love her nearly as much I love your mother. You’ll know when you find the right person and it might take a little while but that’s okay,” Carmilla confessed with a nudge to her daughter’s shoulder.

Syd smiled in response and immediately began to cheer up. “I guess you’re right. Thanks.”

“Hey, it’s my job,” Carmilla jokes getting another laugh in return.

After another moment of silence Syd gets up and walks out of the room leaving Carmilla on her own. Not long after that Laura walks into the bedroom closing the door behind her. Carmilla raises her eyebrows at her.

“You’re not always useless,” Laura says as she saunters over to Carmilla on the bed.

“Look who was wrong now,” Carmilla teases back as she wraps her arms around Laura’s waist pulling her down for a kiss.

Carter and Noah come home over Christmas break with a gift bearing Liam in tow as a surprise for the whole family. They even went all out by dressing as elves and Liam as Santa with a red sack filled with presents. Laura opened the door first and immediately called for her wife to bring the camera and fast. Carmilla complied and smirked as she took pictures of the three 22 year olds before them.

They all enjoyed a cozy holiday season before ringing in the new year. Like every new year Carmilla and Laura kissed at midnight, as well as Carter and Liam who have been going strong for three years.

The family celebrated the ginger twins 23rd birthdays with huge specially designed cakes and alcohol. Syd was laughing at the drunken antics of her family members after being allowed a couple glasses of champagne for the special occasion.

“They look so young, like they haven’t aged a bit,” Liam said somewhat drunkenly. He wasn’t drunk enough to slur his words but he was getting there.

The second the words hit Carmilla and Laura’s ears they began to sober up. Things were serious between Carter and Liam meaning that maybe it was getting close to the time that they needed to tell him what they were. He would only get more suspicious as time went on and if he meant this much to Carter then he deserved to know. Carmilla promised herself to make sure to bring it up to Carter before they left for college the following week.

“Hey, ginger two?”

“Yeah, Aunt Carm?” Carter called from the kitchen.

“Can you come up here for a minute?”

“Yeah, just a second,” Carter responded. They turned to Liam who was cooking away making breakfast for the bunch. He leaned over and kissed them before nudging Carter to go see what their aunt needed. “What’s up?”

“Carter. Is it serious between you and Liam?” Carmilla asked seriously.

“Yeah, no doubt. I think we’re going to start looking into where we’re going to go after college. Job wise and an apartment, if we can afford it. Why?” he asked growing more and more curious as he continued.

“We think it’s time that you tell Liam. About us,” Carmilla clarified. “He’s just going to get more suspicious from now on and if he really means this much to you and you’re both serious about your relationship, we think he deserves to know.”

“Okay. I’ll take it into consideration and try to make sure we’re solid before bringing it up. I’m not going to put you two in danger if anything’s going to happen with our relationship in the next couple months,” Carter said seriously. Carmilla and Laura could tell they were serious. They would never put them into any kind of danger even if it meant keeping secrets from the person they loved.

Carmilla nodded before they turned and left the room to return to the kitchen. Laura put her hand on the older vampire’s shoulder releasing the tension from them. Laura leaned over and kissed Carmilla’s neck softly before getting out of bed.

Soon enough the dread day of the year returns again and Carmilla takes out the dark mahogany box and places it on the counter. She sifts through the pictures and the memories like she always with tears pricking at the back of hers. Laura enters the room and sees that Carmilla is going through the box but does not notice her presence. Laura walks up behind her and gently wraps her arms around the older vampire’s waist resting her chin on her shoulder as well. Carmilla takes in a deep breath and slowly lets out and relaxes into Laura’s touch.

Carmilla is at the bottom of the box finally taking out the envelopes that she placed at the bottom so many years ago. If she hadn’t buried them under everything else she would’ve been too tempted to open them sooner. There were two blue envelopes and one yellow envelope. The yellow envelope was addressed to Carmilla and Laura. Both of their breaths hitch at the realization of the intentional color choice. The yellow pillow. Only LaFontaine would think of such a thing. The two blue envelopes were addressed to Noah and Carter and in fine print it says to only open in the spring semester of their senior years of college. It was hard to not open the yellow envelope sooner but she managed to keep this final promise with Perry and LaFontaine. They would be impressed that she managed to have enough self control to wait all those years.

She placed the envelopes on the counter before closing the box and returning it to it’s place under the bed. Carmilla took her phone out from her pocket and called the ginger twins.

“Hey, ginger twins. I know you’re going to stop by to see your parents later today and I was wondering if you can come home for lunch. You won’t stay too late. We have something to give you and it’s important to have,” Carmilla says while ginger one has her on speaker phone.

“Sure, Aunt Carm. We’ll be there by 1 pm,” Noah replies.

They make small chat for several moments before hanging up. Noah and Carter were already on their way to their parent’s graves. Carmilla sighed to Laura before she grabbed the envelopes and walked downstairs.

Laura prepared lunch with Syd who was trying desperately to lighten the mood of the day with talk about what colleges she got into and what she might want to do in the fall. For the most part it was providing her mothers with a distraction but it was sad nonetheless because their daughter was going to be leaving in the fall.

Once lunch is ready Laura sits with Carmilla who is holding the yellow envelope gingerly as if it’d fall apart any second.

“We should probably read it before the ginger twins get here,” Laura says putting a reassuring hand on Carmilla’s.

Carmilla merely nods in response. She slowly works her way to open the envelope without doing any damage to it in the process and pulls the letter out with a shaky breath. Carmilla unfolds the paper and smooths it out onto the table.

_Carmilla and Laura,_

_If you’re reading this then our lovely children must be graduating in a couple months. Boy, are we proud! We love them both so much and we love you both so much. We are so happy that you’ve helped to raise Noah and Carter to be the young and amazing people we know they are today. **Geez, Perr. I didn’t know this was going to be a sob fest when you said we had to write this. Sorry, guys.** LaFontaine! Anyway, we know they are bound for great things one day. And we know that you will only want and do what is best for them. Thanks for being there for them after we couldn’t. We know you raised them to be the best persons they can be._

“Perry was way too prepared. It’s like she knew something would happen to them and it’s mildly creepy,” Carmilla comments before returning to reading. Laura merely nodded her head before continuing.

_We know that at least one of them are bound to ask this. Carmilla, if they ask for you to turn them we want you to know that it’s okay with us. **Oh yeah, it’s totally cool with me! A vampire kid! That’s fantastic!** LaFontaine. **Sorry.** We just want to know that you will make sure they are doing it for all the right reasons and that they are fully prepared for the consequences of choosing such lifestyle. We will love them no matter what they choose. We will support whatever they choose as long as they aren’t doing it for the wrong reasons. We support them. We support you. We support the whole family. We love our children and we love you both for everything you’ve been in our lives and everything you’ve done for us or our children. Thank you so much. We love you._

_Oh and we trust that you’ll give whoever the twins start to date a serious talking to when the right time comes for that. M **ake it embarrassing and crack jokes like you knew I would. And. please, tell me at least one of them got my sense of humor?** Don’t worry, Lafontaine, I already see your sense of humor in Carter. **Yes. Mission accomplished.** We can’t say how much we appreciate you both and how much we appreciate what you’re doing for our children. We love you. Always remember that. ~~**And hey, don’t forget about us.**~~_

_Much Love **to Infinity and Beyond,**_

_**LaFontaine** and Lola Perry_

****  


Tears are pricking both of the vampires eyes as they finish the letter but they’re both smiling so bright. It may have been creepy and bizarre that Perry seemed to think everything through but it was also such a great thing. It left them with a bit of closure and assurance that they would approve of how they raised the ginger twins. It was reassuring and heartwarming.

An hour later the ginger twins were tearing up at their own letters. They were similar to the one Carmilla and Laura received but more targeted to the children and all of their future endeavors. And much, much longer. They had long passages for every significant moment the ginger twins would hit in life. Both of the ginger twins were absolutely touched by them and promised they would never part from these letters as long as they shall live.

They assured Carmilla they would speak to her after graduation about any possible decisions they have regarding being turned but at this point in time they hadn’t figured out what they wanted. Carmilla nodded in complete understanding before sending them on their way back to their dorms.

“Do you think they will?” Laura asked shortly after they left.

“Only if they both want it. Ginger one isn’t going to unless ginger two does, and vice-versa,” Carmilla said pulling Laura into a hug.

“That’s the truth,” Laura said wrapping her arms tighter around Carmilla and enjoying the embrace. They’ve always known that one wasn’t even going to be willing to do anything unless the other was right by their side the entire way.

A couple months later the ginger twins were graduating. Laure, Carmilla and Syd all attended the graduation and screamed for both of the ginger twins. They screamed so loud that both of their voices were raw by the end of graduation.

Two months after that they both secured paid internships to start in July. Noah, Carter, and Liam all went apartment shopping and eventually found a place that the three of them would be able to afford.

That fall Syd began attending the same college that Noah and Carter just graduated from and as much as she hates to admit it she was following in their footsteps.

By the following Christmas Noah called with some important news.

“Auntie Carm!” Noah shouted the second Carmilla picked up the phone.

“Yes, ginger one? What’s got you so excited?”

“We want you to turn us. But,” Noah pauses. “Only if you’re willing to turn Liam, too.”

“Liam?” Carmilla asks not entirely surprised by this.

“Yes. You’ve been emailing back and forth with all the information we could possibly know about taking this lifestyle on. And we all understand what it will mean for our lives. And we want you and Aunt Laura to turn us,” Noah says their voice filled with sincerity.

Carmilla had spoken with them for hours at a time over the phone about the consequences of being turned. Talking to them about how it will affect their lives and what they will need to do in order to protect themselves from being caught. They understood fully. They knew what they were getting themselves into. And she knew that Liam had been on the other end of the phone call on more than one occasion. They couldn’t lie to her about that she could hear three separate heartbeats almost every time they had the discussion.

“Okay, sweetie. If it’s what you all want then consider it done.”

“That’s it? You don’t have some crazy ‘Are You Truly Ready’ test for us?” Noah asks in disbelief.

“I’ve been testing you for months ginger twins plus blondie.”

“Right, the heartbeat thing,” Liam speaks up for the first time realizing.

“You got it, blondie.”

“So we’re coming home for Christmas this year. All of us and we were thinking that in the new year you could turn us?” Carter spoke up.

“Alright. We can’t do you all at once. Laura and I can take the ginger twins on one day and if Liam can wait a week or so for me to replenish then I’ll turn him myself,” Carmilla said sincerely giving Liam one last chance for an out. She did need time to replenish before turning someone else because doing too many at once was too risky but this gave him some time to process he changes.

“That’s not a problem me with. And if you’re worried I’m going to bolt, Carmilla, I’m not. I love Carter more than anything and can’t imagine doing this with anyone else,” Liam assures her and Carmilla can tell he’s being entirely honest with her.

“Good. So we’ll see you all for Christmas then.”

“Yep, goodbye Aunt Carm. Tell Aunt Laura we said hey,” Noah said excitedly.

“You know it,” she replied before hanging up the phone and dropping it onto the coffee table.

“Well, this is going to be one hell of a new year,” Carmilla said leaning back with one of her favorite books.

“Oh, yes it will,” Laura agrees putting her head back into Carmilla’s lap and resuming typing away at her laptop. They both smiled contently as Carmilla played with Laura’s hair with one hand and holding the book with the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I came out similarly to Syd. The hickeys thing was a thing that led to my coming out...oops. That's the only truth to any of that story tho...
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story...and I'd love to hear feedback or anything. Here or on tumblr at sobuckleupcreampuff or my personal perpetual-reveries  
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a sequel/second chapter of sorts. And I almost want to apologize for bringing this into the fandom but I do love this in some way. It was originally going to be a thousand times shorter and way way different but I got a little carried away and this story seemingly developed itself.
> 
> Also...did you catch it? February...first dance...just think about the day and I deeply apologize for making sure you caught that.
> 
> I'm telling you this story pretty much wrote itself the details all hit me long after I actually wrote them.


End file.
